KATHMANDU:
Republica Online
Defending champion Region No 3 (Kathmandu) thrashed Region No 6 (Baitadi) by 105 runs while newcomer Region No 7 (Janakpurdham) defeated Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) in the Pepsi One Day National Cricket Tournament on Wednesday.
Winning the toss, Baitadi invited Kathmandu to bat first in the match played at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. Kathmandu posted a mammoth 142 runs on the board losing all wickets in 38.5 overs.
Chasing 143 runs for victory, Baitadi was bundled out for 37 runs in 18.1 overs as Rupesh Shrivastav grabbed seven wickets for Kathmandu. Shrivastav gave away 16 runs with three maidens in his 9-over spell. Pramod Basnet took two wickets while Sudip Sharma took one.
None of the Baitadi batsmen was able to reach double figures. Four Baitadi batsmen were out for duck while Baitadi captain Surendra Chand remained unbeaten on 9 runs off 36 balls. Baitadi received 10 runs from extras.
Earlier, Kathmandu was off to a good start but continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Rikesh Lama was the highest scorer with 29 runs, which included two boundaries, off 45 balls. Rajesh Pulami scored 22 runs, including a boundary, facing 48 deliveries.
Kamal Raj Joshi was the most successful bowler for Baitadi as he took four wickets in his 9.5-over spell conceding 18 runs. Sunil Tamang claimed three wickets of Kathmandu giving away 27 runs. Kuldeep Khadka and Dinesh Agri took a wicket each.
In the other match played at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Janakpur defeated Nepalgunj for its first win. A half-century from Prahlad Sah and four wickets by Roshan Thakur helped Janakpur register a 30-run victory.
Janakpur won the toss and scored 201 runs off 44.1 overs despite a bad start. Janakpur lost its openers Shobha Kant Pandey (3) and Anil Kumar Mandal (6) when the total was 15 runs.
Prahlad Sah then came in and played a good innings when Janakpur was in a difficult situation after having lost its third wicket of Hari Shankar Sah (2). Sah scored 57 runs off 94 balls which included six boundaries. Janakpur captain Kumar Prasun scored a quick 39 runs off 29 balls which included three fours and two huge sixes.
Navin Shahi was the most successful bowler for Nepalgunj as he took four wickets in his 10-over spell conceding 51 runs. Subendu Pandey grabbed three wickets in seven overs while Sammu Khan took two wickets.
Bhupendra Thapa scored 62 runs but it could not save Nepalgunj from defeat. Thapa hit four boundaries and a huge six during his 92-ball knock. Besides Thapa, no other Nepalgunj batsman could make noteworthy contributions.
Roshan Thakur of Janakpur took four wickets in his 8.2-over spell conceding 19 runs while Pradeep Sapkota grabbed two wickets in eight overs. Kumar Prasun and Raj Mohammad took a wicket each. Two Nepalgunj batsmen were run out.
